The Arsenic Widow #Wattys2015 (mxm)

Chapter Twenty Nine

Uh oh, I think I'm going to get a lot of hate for this chapter xD I'm sorry in advance, but this is the way it has to be! Have I struck worry into your heart yet? >:D
Anyway, another chapter on time again!
Just a small reminder that these chapters are short for a reason. One, I'm uploading every single week so that doesn't give me a lot of time, and two, while I'm at University I rarely have time to sit and write so when I upload on a Thursday, I'm also writing the chapter the very same day! Yay :D

One Month Later

"Master!" I cried excitedly, crawling up the tree at a rapid pace. "Look at what I found!"

Lothaire was sitting in our nest, skinning a small rabbit. I knew we were going to be making it into a stew that would last us a few days in the cold air. "What is it?" He asked, his reptilian eyes meeting mine.

I brought the leaves up to show him. I sat down across from him and handed him the leaves I had found. They were huge, bigger than my hands, and a bright orange. Lothaire had taught me that they were Quion leaves which helped when cooking meat. If you wrapped a piece of meat within it, it would release some sort of special oil and make it tender. However, the trees and leaves were hard to find.

"Good boy," he reached out and ruffled my hair and I turned my face against it obligingly. I kissed the warm palm of his hand and looked up at him. I put the leaves on the nest and sat expectantly.

"Need any help?" I asked, playing with some scraps of fur.

He shook his head, "It's a quick animal to skin. You know that."

I sighed and fidgeted. Even though I felt comfortable and safe up here, there was something in the back of my mind that was making me restless. I wasn't sure what it was, but I wished I could just ignore it.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his deep voice making me jump. His eyes never seemed to miss a beat when it came to our surroundings.

I shook my head, "I don't know. My mind sometimes goes into overdrive. Like sometimes I wonder if Acorn is having trouble with the Queen or not."

He stiffened, "Do you think about the Prince a lot?"

"No!" I exclaimed, slightly panicked. "It's just a random thing that popped into my head! My mind is usually on you and only you!"

"Good," he hissed softly, his tongue flicking out to taste the air as if trying to smell a lie. Could he do that? I wasn't sure.

I ran my hands along my pants, wiping the sweat from them. I no longer had my beautiful leather pants anymore. They had been replaced with some sort of cotton pants that Lothaire had gotten for me. He claimed that they would keep me warmer than my old ones, but so far they hadn't done much at all.

Lothaire finished skinning the rabbit and began cutting the meat up. "Tonight we're going to be having a stew. I'm going to put the rest in the empty wineskin for travel so we can begin moving out."

My eyes widened in surprise, "We're leaving?" I instantly felt nervous. I'd never been in one area for so long, so now I considered this place my home. I knew the trees and the animals and our nest. Anxiety clawed at my heart. "You're not leaving me alone are you?"

He chuckled softly and dumped the meat in a pot, "No, we're leaving here together. We're going back to your special castle and seeing some of your old friends."

I shook my head again, "Old friends? Who are we seeing?"

"Well, the lovely Queen. Maybe she'll make you perform more sexual acts for you again?" He licked his lips. "I wish I could have seen that." His eyes glazed over slightly before he looked back at me. "And your pretty Prince. If he's still alive that is. Maybe your King sent someone else in your place to finish him off?"

Heat prickled along my skin as worry overcame me. Was Acorn dead? The King seemed adamant that the man would die. What if Par was sent? I bit my lip as I imagined my friend being in the middle of all this. And what about the friends I had made? Tattoo? Tim? Would they be in trouble because of me? Or have they already forgotten my name and moved on?

Instead of voicing any of these worries, I looked up at Lothaire and forced a smile. "I'm glad we're going together."

His hand reached out and touched the bottom of my jaw, drawing me closer to him. "You don't seem 'glad'." He smirked at my use of language, silently mocking me for some reason."

"I'm sorry," I replied, lowering my eyes. "I just don't like being away from home."

"And your home is?" His hands tightened momentarily.

"Here. Right here in this nest. With you," I added softly, wanting to make him happy.

He looked content with what I had said. He lowered his head and pressed his lips against mine gently. Although I'd been here for about a month, he had refrained from having sex with me for some reason. Not that I was complaining. I still couldn't shake that disturbing feeling from my shoulders when it came to him and sex. I always felt guilty for thinking that, but at the same time I knew it was no one's fault.

I kissed him back gently, trying not to seem too eager. Lothaire always mocked me when I became too excited about anything. So I try to use the right amount of interest so he wouldn't feel any reason to tease me.

Lothaire pulled back and looked down at me. "Do you love me?" he purred, his eyes twinkling in amusement.

I wasn't sure what was causing him to look that way, but I decided to ignore it. "Yes, I love you. Do you love me?"

He hesitated and my body froze, thinking I had made a fool of myself. Then he smiled with his lipless mouth and nodded. "I do. Especially now that you're so willing. I don't have to beat you into submission again."

Nodding, I had to agree with him. "You won't ever have to hit me again."

He cocked his head to the side. "What if it's for fun?"

Now it was my turn to hesitate. "For... fun? Why would you hit someone for fun?"

Lothaire's smile turned cold and a sudden blast of pain emerged on my face. He had backhanded me! I held my sore cheek and looked up at him, my eyes filling with tears. He looked at his fingers and licked the blood from them. "Your blood is fun," he commented. "Your tears are fun. Your pain is fun. Understand?"

I didn't, but I nodded anyway, tasting blood in my mouth as I did so.

"Good boy," he crooned, stroking the area he had just slapped. "You'll learn to like this just like you learned to like me."

I hoped he was right.

I hope you enjoy where this is going!! >:D See you all in the next chapter! <3